


Sleepless

by chaos_monkey



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Cuddles, Feels, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, light emotional hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26038651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaos_monkey/pseuds/chaos_monkey
Summary: Eli wakes up from a bad dream, of sorts.
Relationships: Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto
Comments: 16
Kudos: 60





	Sleepless

**Author's Note:**

> Not exactly a sequel to [Restless](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21093140), so much as a standalone inspired by it. Thank you ZsforSs for the lovely idea ^.^
> 
> 💙 Happy 500th Thranto!! 💙

Eli blinked awake, groggy and disoriented in the darkness. His mind still felt… strangely floaty, still affected by the sensations of that _dream…_ of _flying…_ of… 

“What in the _fuck_ was that,” Eli muttered to himself, then winced as Thrawn’s eyes opened and bathed them both in a soft red glow. 

“Eli? Are you well?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Eli said, not entirely truthfully. The dream hadn’t been _bad,_ exactly, but… definitely unsettling. “Just a… weird dream is all, I’m sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep.” 

Thrawn, of course, didn’t listen, but Eli wasn’t complaining about the arm that wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him close. “What did you dream?” 

Eli buried his face into Thrawn’s chest, broad and warm and comforting. “It’s dumb,” he said, huffing an embarrassed half-laugh. 

“It has upset you,” Thrawn answered. Eli felt him shift; felt Thrawn’s lips press against his forehead before Thrawn settled down again, fingers stroking lightly over Eli’s bare shoulder. 

Eli sighed. “I dreamed we were… butterflies,” he mumbled, flushing. It sounded so stupid when he said it now. “And I was looking and looking for something without knowing what, but then it was _you_ and I knew it as soon as I saw you… and then…” 

“And then?” 

“And then we… mated and I had to leave you behind. Forever.” 

Eli fell silent. That same bittersweet sense of… simultaneous fulfillment and _loss_ he’d felt when he first woke up was back, burning thick and heavy in his throat. He ducked his head and swiped irritably at his eyes with another weak laugh, this one a little too close to ‘watery’ for his liking. 

“I am here now,” Thrawn murmured, cupping Eli’s chin and gently tilting his face up in the darkness. “As are you.” 

‘“Yeah,” Eli said. “Stupid dreams.” 

“There is nothing stupid about one’s subconscious attempting to face its fears,” Thrawn said, stroking the line of Eli’s jaw with his thumb. “You should not be ashamed.” 

Eli huffed again, leaning in to press his mouth to Thrawn’s. He hadn’t meant it to be more than a wordless gesture of affection, a ‘thank you’ for the support; but Thrawn’s lips parted slightly against his, the brief, wet touch of his tongue sending a little flare of interest through Eli’s gut as the kiss slowly deepened. 

“Some of it _was_ nice,” Eli murmured against Thrawn’s lips. “I liked the feeling of flying together. It was like a… like a dance in the air.” He trailed off, flushing, but Thrawn only hummed encouragingly. “I liked how we fit together perfectly, too. There was something… peaceful about it. Even if it was a little sad, at the end.” 

“I suppose that is true of most endings,” Thrawn said quietly. 

“Yeah,” Eli agreed; then sighed again. He was wide awake now. Figured. “I don’t know if I can get back to sleep, I’ll let you rest,” he said, moving to roll away. 

Thrawn held onto him. “I am rested,” he murmured, ducking his head to nuzzle into Eli’s neck. “There are perhaps other things we might do instead, if you need… ‘cheering up’, I believe is the correct phrase?” 

Eli grinned, biting his lip and tilting his head to give Thrawn better access. “Mmm… y’know, I think I just might, at that.” 

**Author's Note:**

> (In my head this takes place after Thrawn has defected from the Empire and joined Eli in Chiss space the way he _should_ do. But if you want to make yourself sad and see it as happening before Thrawn sends him there in the first place, well… that’s your business, innit)


End file.
